


Dragons and Plants and Your Love

by sendosenpai



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Difference, Boys In Love, Boys' Love, Bullying, Dragons, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gay, Hogwarts, Loneliness, M/M, Self Confidence Issues, Slow Burn, Wizards, charlie helps him out, charlie is uber hot, neville has confidence issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-01-09 21:09:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12284445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sendosenpai/pseuds/sendosenpai
Summary: Neville is pretty alone, having been at Hogwarts for a couple of months and still struggling to fit in. A chance encounter with another lover of magical creatures makes him consider that maybe it's not that hard to make friends.And anyway...Charlie Weasley is hot. So a little attention from the teenager would hardly go amiss.





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> events not specifically how they happened in books! <3

PROLOGUE  
Neville did not have many friends. He was a loner in every sense; after being placed in the care of his grandmother he had less freedom as a child, didn’t go out much, was constantly stressed about being a Squib (wasn’t a Squib)…  
So Neville was sat in the common room, watching the fire, thinking about home, feeling a little lonely, turning around at the sound of a disturbance behind him – was that Seamus’ dorm?  
“Ron? Is that you?” he asked to the darkness.  
The shadowy figure stopped, hesitated, and stepped out into the light of the fire.   
“Harry?” Neville stood up from the plush armchair. “What are you doing out of bed?”  
Harry was wearing his school robe, hood over his brow like a menacing twelve-year-old Grim Reaper. Neville, not appalled in the slightest, had his focus on one thing only.  
“What’s in your robe?”  
There was something moving in there – shifting, wriggling, Harry was struggling to keep it in place, covered it with his robe.  
“Neville, it’s not important – seriously,” and then someone else clambered down the steps of the girl’s dorms loudly as if they were trying to wake up the hood.  
The boys were silent until they saw bushy brown hair.  
“Neville?” Hermione said sharply. “What are you doing up?”  
The three seemed at a bit of a standstill. Neville wasn’t keen on telling Hermione or Haruchi why he was awake and they didn’t seem keen on enlightening him, either. They looked at each other like opposing forces against the Dark Lord and Harry inevitably broke the silence.  
“Hermione, we have to get going,” he muttered. “Seriously, we have to go,” he said in an even quieter tone.  
Hermione was brittle and sharp as always, approaching the situation in a sanitary manner. “Neville, if we take you with us then you can’t tell anyone – anyone, you hear me?”  
Neville was intrigued and was quick to promise. Something continued to wriggle in Harry’s robe and Hermione looked at Nevile distrustfully.  
“Cross your heart,” she said sharply. Neville did so.  
“Maybe we should do a spit-promise,” suggested Harry, hands full of a moving (creature??).  
“Ugh,” Hermione said. “Don’t be disgusting, Harry. I’d expect those kinds of things from Ron, not you.” Then she turned to Neville, arms crossed and eyes sharp in the flickering flames of the fire. “Well?”  
She could have been tapping her foot in impatience on the ground for the speed that Neville moved. Soon the trio were walking out of the common room and down the halls towards a destination Neville was yet to know of and too nervous to ask about, lest Hermione be the one to respond. Neville enjoyed her help in potions, but was scared of her anger she was yet to show him but he was sure would be painful to experience.  
They started in a brisk jog when they heard the tolling of the clock, signifying it was the top of the hour.   
“They’ll be waiting for us,” complained Harry, and Hermione tittered in aggravation also. Neville wondered who ‘they’ were, and why he’d even wanted to be included so much to as left the toasty and comfortable common room for a jog around the cold corridors.  
Hermione motioned Harry and Neville up multiple sets of steps, spitting answers for portrait-riddles as of they’d personally offended her, the occupants occasionally moving with haste when seeing her speed but also going to slower to anger her.  
It was a daring mix and Neville was only glad to not be on the receiving end of Hermione’s mood.  
The pair led Neville to a part of the castle he’d never been to, picking up their speed to a run and then –  
It was cold. The chill cut through Neville’s pyjamas. And the other things Neville noticed:   
\- They were on the roof  
\- There were other silhouettes on the roof  
\- None of those silhouettes went to their school  
“Uh – Harry?” Neville muttered unsurely, appealing to the less strict of his acquaintances.  
“Harry?” said a louder voice – one of the strangers from the darkness.   
The person stepped out, towards the trio –  
“Charlie?” Harry said, still holding the wriggling package.  
The man Harry called Charlie took another step towards the students. “Is that it?” he asked.  
The man’s hair was still the brightest red, even in the dappled light. His face was shadowed, a mess of cheekbones and sharp jawline, prominent Adam’s apple, skin a sun-kissed colour. His broad shoulders were covered with a dark jacket – the lighting was too poor to know what it was made out of but the style indicated leather. The man stepped forward in denim-clad legs, (strong thighs), hands reaching towards what was in Harry’s grip.  
Harry unwrapped the thing in his robes…  
“A dragon?” Neville exclaimed. He took a step closer to what was now in Charlie’s grip. “A Norwegian Ridgeback?”   
The attractive man was cradling the dragon to his chest. “She’s a real beauty, ain’t she?”  
Neville took another hesitant step forward. “Wow,” Neville said. “Harry, where did you get this?”   
He wondered why he got Trevor and Harry got a Ridgeback.  
The man laughed. “Ah, kid,” he said with a chuckle. “Ask no questions, hear no lies. That’s between me and Harry.” The man paused to accommodate for the dargon’s shifting. “How did you know ‘e was a Ridgeback, anyways?”  
Neville wanted to touch the dragon, but was in equal parts scared of the beast and scared of getting too close to the man who he was not sure would appreciate the gesture, even if it was due to admiration for the dragon.   
“The scales,” Neville muttered. “They always glimmer…”  
“…no matter how much light there is,” Charlie finished for him.   
No matter how bad his memory was, Neville always remembered facts about dragons and plants. Someone grabbed Charlie’s shoulder from behind him. “Charlie, we gotta go,” his friend said.   
Neville took a step back, aware of when people were done talking to him and all too used to it.  
“Hey, kid,” the man said, stopping Neville’s movement. “What’s your name?”  
“Neville,” Neville replied.  
“I’m Charlie,” the man – Charlie – said. “I’ll see you around,” he said, eyes smart and sparkling, like he had a secret in them that he wanted to only tell Neville…the dragon was passed back to someone else and placed in a crate, the strangers took their places on their brooms, kicking off – the person with the Ridgeback was already racing ahead, but the red-head lagged behind.  
“Thanks, Harry,” Charlie shouted over the distance. “Later, Neville!” Charlie waved.  
And then he was gone. Had Neville made a friend that easily?   
And a friend…that was as beautiful as this mysterious Charlie?  
Senpai: comment if you want me to continue! >.<  
and if you like this work, be sure to check out my other work, Let Me Be The Wallpaper That Papers Up Your Room  
What did you guys like? What did you dislike??? <3<3<3<3


	2. CHAPTER 1 – AND THUS IS BEGINS

CHAPTER 1 – AND THUS IS BEGINS  
Days are boring for Neville.  
Ron is soon out of hospital so Harry and Hermione go back to being impartial to Neville. Trevor is often disloyal, hopping away whenever he pleases and ensuing a chase. Neville finds some other people to hang out with – a girl from Ravenclaw called Luna Lovegood, who he constantly assures himself is not on any of the odd concoctions his uncle once offered him.   
Life has gone back to being mundane. Neville had his five seconds – he nearly touched a Ridgeback, holy hell – and he knows the next couple of weeks will most likely be him fixating on what could have happened if he’d just had the guts to lean forward and touch that dragon.   
A literal once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, missed. Neville is getting to accustomed to that feeling of guilt.  
Neville is sitting at the breakfast table near Seamus (Ron is egging the lad on to attempt to refill his glass of orange juice with his wand, though everyone in the surround area knows something will end up exploding). He hadn’t been expecting mail that day – his grandmother’s customary bi-weekly letters had already been received and replied to. So for something to drop in his lap from a foreign owl in a foreign scrawl – Neville is first alarmed and then confused.  
“Oi,” says Ron. “Gimmie that. It’s from Charlie’s owl – stupid thing must have dropped it in the wrong place.”  
Ron takes the envelope from Neville’s loose grip before Neville can even reply. But no: even the other boy is looking at the envelope in shock.  
“Oh…it is for you,” Ron says around a mouthful of egg. “My bad, mate. Musta got the owls confused.”  
Yeah, he must have. Charlie? Did Ron know a Charlie? Could that be the same man on the roof – hell, they both had the tell-tale Weasley red hair, didn’t they? Could they be brothers? And how else would Harry know of him? But Neville was unsure and unconfident, only certain he was wrong, and decided to open the letter when he wasn’t at the breakfast table (only too aware of Ron looking over his shoulder).  
-  
It’s after dinner when Neville gets a chance to tear at the seal. The day had been full of classes or classmates, and only now were people messing around in the common room for long enough for Neville to have a quiet moment.  
He pulled out a scrap of paper – because it was literally a scrap, something haphazardly written on the blank side of a piece of cereal-box cardboard – but the scrawl was neat and negligible.   
Hello Nev – don’t know if you remember me, it’s Charlie from the rooftop a couple nights ago. Just thought I’d give you the message that Norbeta is fine and in Romania with me!  
-your mate, Charlie  
Could you pass the message to Hagrid, Harry, Ron, and the bushy-haired one? (I forgot her name, but don’t tell her that!)  
-thanks man, Charlie   
Neville could only assume Norbeta was the name of the dragon and read over Charlie’s scrawl again. The note was short and sweet, but there was still something light in the envelope – Neville would have tossed it if he hadn’t seen the glow from within. He slid his fingers into it and pulled out the item.  
Neville didn’t need to read the tag to see what it was.   
It was a lock of hair…of a thestral. A part of its mane…the feeling was silky smooth between Neville’s grip. Why would Charlie enclose something so melancholy in the envelope? The note had a clear annotation of which animal the hair had come from.  
For Charlie to put this in the envelope meant he knew that Neville had seen death…and it mean Charlie had, too. Neville felt cold. He didn’t understand. And at the same time, he couldn’t stop touching it.   
Neville had never touched something so magnificent.  
He thought about the death he had witnessed. The weightless lock was heavy. Why would Charlie give him this? It must have been intentional.  
Neville couldn’t figure it out. All he knew was that looking at it made him feel more alone.  
-  
Neville gave himself until the next day to tell Ron, Hermione and Harry that Norbeta had gotten home safely.  
“Norbeta?” Harry said. “Do you mean Norbet?”  
Neville had read the note enough times (looking for clues regarding the thestral hair) to know he was not missaying it.   
“Norbeta.”  
Ron snorted. “Charlie’s mad like that, Harry. It’s probably an ink smudge.”  
Neville wondered why Ron would think Charlie was mad, but didn’t have the confidence to question him. HE considered it was wholly ironic he was placed in Gryffindor when he couldn’t even maintain a conversation without being a coward.  
Harry and Hermione, though dissatisfied by the explanation, concede. Ron, however, doesn’t really let it drop.  
“So you sure this note was from Charlie? How does Charlie even know who you are? It would make more sense for him to send me an owl directly.”  
It never occurred to anyone, let alone Neville, that Charlie was trying to get Neville to interact more with the group. It never occurred to anyone either that Charlie may have thought that Neville was a closer friend to them than he really was.  
Charlie never really considered that maybe Neville wouldn’t particularly enjoy being asked to be an errand boy and talk to these people who were clearly insinuating he was a liar, though at the time of the receiving message something akin to satisfaction or perhaps relief and pride at being tasked with something by a cool, dragon-handling teen had emerged within him.  
That evening in the dorms, when everyone was snug in their jammies, Neville pulled out the note and showed it directly to Ron.  
“It’s his writing,” Ron said uncertainly. “I still don’t get why he would tell you first.”  
Neville hid the bitter emotion welling inside him pretty well. He didn’t understand why Ron would have no tact and flat-out say he was basically unimportant. Harry looked at the note afterwards.  
When no-one added to Ron’s comment, he continued. “I AM his brother.”  
There was annoyance in his tone. Brother? Ron was Charlie’s brother? Neville had suspected it, but – they were brothers? Why would Neville be the one to receive the note then?  
HE was confused…and the boys made their way to their own beds…  
Neville lay in the darkness, and his fingers worked open his top drawer. He pulled out the lock of thestral.  
United…maybe Charlie was trying to say they were united in their loss?  
No matter what it was, Neville held the lock until the sunlight smashed against the curtains. IT was smooth in his fingers, glimmered even in minimal lighting…  
He liked the thought of them being united.


	3. CHAPTER 2 - PENPALS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> neville gets a penpal and something a wittle too fiery

CHAPTER 2 – PENPALS  
Neville wasn’t exactly sure what to say to Charlie.   
His address was another thing he’d been unsure of, but thankfully Charlie’s owl was still in the owlery, resting. Neville figured he could attach something to his leg that he could take back on the return trip.  
The note had been re-drafted multiple times, but the last draft turned out a little like this:  
To Charlie,  
I told Harry, Ron and Hermione (the girl with the bushy hair you forgot the name of) about Norbeta (who I think is the dragon but for some reason they thought was called Norbert).  
I saw Hagrid and he said he already knew because Harry told him and then he was saying about his big spiders and he asked me to ask you whether or not you wanted to see them and I said I would ask you so if you want to see them can you please tell him?  
This is where Neville started to have trouble with the letter. He tapped the nib of his quill on the study desk and created a well of ink. He dripped it back into the ink bottle.  
There was some thestral hair in the envelope and I think you put it in by mistake so I’m putting it back in here just in case you’re searching for it and have lost it. I thought it was very pretty.   
Thank you, Neville  
Neville thought the ending sounded a little too formal but he was tired of drafting and re-drafting the same note. For some reason he wanted to impress Charlie and was embarrassed that he’d spent so much time replying to a note that was sent to him on the back of a cereal box.  
Neville petted the owl, fed it some nuts from his hand. He spent a good half an hour with it – it was a pretty little thing, with chestnut feathers on its head and brown feathers further to its feet. He tied the letter to one of its feet and when the bird was ready, it took flight with wings of glory.  
-  
This letter was most certainly not from his grandmother.   
Neville knew this because the letter was not delivered in a conventional way.  
Owls fluttered through the great hall, thankfully not pooing anywhere near him, but amongst the masses was one bird that didn’t really look like a bird…  
Tied around the neck of a Yorkish Silverscale was a note. The small, dog-sized dragon landed on Neville’s breakfast with the loudest crash, rattling all of the dishes and knocking over his orange juice. It curled up there, tail around its head. The thing was seeping onto the table like Trevor when he got himself stuck in the cardboard of a loo roll.  
People were looking at Neville with a little more than mild curiosity.  
Neville was wordless.  
The dragon was sleeping. Sleeping! Why was there a dragon on his table? Neville knew the thing was harmless unless you were a fish, which he most certainly was not, though he still had no idea what to do with it.   
Teachers were starting to notice. Neville froze. He couldn’t touch the dragon, even though he’d been spending the last few days wishing he’d touched Charlie’s Ridgeback. Quite a bit of the table looked on in confusion, though some students continued eating as if that type of thing was a regular occurrence.  
Neville could hear the sound of clicking shoes and the back of his neck heated with a blush.  
“Mr Longbottom,” Professor McGonagall said. “I hardly think the dining table is an appropriate place for a dragon.”  
“Yes, Professor,” Neville muttered helplessly.  
She clicked her tongue. “Come with me, and we’ll see if we can find a more appropriate place for him.”  
Neville stood, arms shaking a little, confronted with the reality that he would have to pick up the dragon himself and follow after Professor McGonagall, two things he was hardly keen to do. He took a deep breath and reached for the Yorkish Silverscale – it jittered a little in its sleep but thankfully did little more than yawn and adjust its position in Neville’s arms before he was frogmarched out of the Great Hall.  
Once in McGonagall’s office the dragon was used for more like protection against her, though the thing was harmless. It was a barrier, at least.   
“Biscuit, Neville?”  
“Um – no thank you, Professor.” He shifted nervously between his feet as armfuls of dragon slept over him.  
“A gingernut?”  
“Uh, I’m – I’m okay, Professor.”  
She sat silently behind her desk and motioned for Neville to do the same, which he did.   
“I hope you understand that having a dragon deliver mail is hardly appropriate.”  
“Yes, Professor,” Neville said helplessly as she continued.  
“Now, I would normally punish a student for keeping a dragon in Hogwarts, though considering the arrival of the dragon doesn’t APPEAR to be your fault – I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt here, and if I find out you REQUESTED the dragon be sent here then I will punish you accordingly. Do you understand, Mr Longbottom?”  
“Yes, Professor,” Neville said weakly. The dragon rumbled in his arms.   
“Perfect,” Professor McGonagall said. “I suggest you find out who sent you the dragon and I’ll enlist Professor Hagrid to help you send him back. I hear he’s got a – liking – for magical creatures.”  
Neville didn’t understand if she was referencing The Charlie Incident or if she just knew Hagrid liked dragons. He pressed himself into the chair, cradling the Yorkish, and McGonagall nodded at him.  
“Well, off you go. I’ll tell your first teacher not to expect you. Do you know where Hagrid lives?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things will pick up soon my bois, my sons. hold on they are getting a frandship.   
> xxxxxxxxxxxx  
> comments help me update


	4. CHAPTER 3 - SECRETS AND SILVERTAILS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello boyos. enjoi

CHAPTER 3  
Hagrid’s house was a small cabin on the way to the Forbidden Forest. Neville bounced the dragon as he walked there, thankful for the empty corridors. First period had just begun – potions, his least favourite – and Neville was spending it petting a Yorkish Silverscale!   
“Aye, Neville – is that a YORKISH SILVERSCALE!??!?!?!?!?!?!? :o”  
Neville had to stop himself responding with an ‘aye’, choosing to nod instead as Hagrid waved him in.  
“Well, wass ‘e doing?”  
“I think he was delivering my post,” Neville said meekly, “Though I have no idea why.”  
“Well, maybe you shoul’ read the letter. ‘Ere,” Hagrid said, untying it from the dragon’s neck before motioning to hand it back to Neville. Upon seeing his arms were too full Hagrid grinned widely, placing the letter down on his rickety table and reaching for the dragon, cradling it against his large frame and rocking it as if it were a baby.  
Neville picked up the letter and opened it.  
Neville,  
I’m sending this by a Silverscale! How cool is that, right? You probably knew what breed it was. I’m hoping you do, lol, don’t want to be pushing my high expectations onto you. Spoiler: it’s a Silverscale! Man, dragons are awesome. I’ll send you tonnes. Well, as long as you send them back.  
Thanks for passing on the message! Tell Hagrid I’d love to see the spiders. I’m a little busy now but I’ll send him an owl – yeah, just tell him I’ll send him an owl.   
Well, I’m sending the thestral hair back because it was a fully intentional gift. I am a little obsessive when I find someone who likes dragons and plants as much as I do, maybe you gathered that. This time you get the Silverscale but don’t expect your next taste of magical creatures to be this big!   
Charlie   
“’Oo’s it from?”  
“Charlie – um, Charlie Weasley.”  
“Charlie Weasley, eh.” Hagrid scratched his beard thoughtfully. “Wha’s he doing, sending dragons around?”  
“I don’t know,” Neville said. “I think we should send it back.”  
“Yer right. Ah, yer right. D’you think he knows where ‘e’s going?”  
“Yeah,” Neville crossed his fingers. As much as he wanted to hug the dragon close and keep it in his dorm, he knew his face was probably still flushed from his close encounter with McGonagall. Neville never did bode well with confrontation.  
-  
Dear Charlie,  
The Yorkish Silverscale was really cool, thank you for sending it. I got in trouble with McGonagall though so maybe next time don’t send the dragon? But I want to see more, the Silverscale was asleep for most of the time it was here! Hagrid and me tried to take it to the lake and get it to eat fish but then we were scared when it wouldn’t catch any so we gave him some from Hagrids fridge. Is it okay? hagrid said it was but he was worried too.  
The thestral hair is cool thanks for sending it back, hagrid says they are pretty expensive too and I don’t get why but I guess only certain people can see thestrals so maybe the hair is difficult to harvest, I don’t know.   
Thank you so much for showing me the Silverscale and the thestral hair, Neville  
-  
Neville spent the night tracing the words of Charlie’s letter until they smudged – the thestral hair glowed in his fingers. His family was poor; he never got expensive things. Or nice things. The thestral hair was nice. Neville brushed it against his lips.  
Charlie – who was Charlie Weasley?   
Neville folded up the letter and tucked it into a shoebox he kept beneath his bed before the other boys in his dorm woke up. Whoever Charlie Weasley was, he’d be Neville’s secret.  
senpai - hi guis! its me, senpai. thnks for the comments. i like reading them. give me more. feed the fanfiction

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >.<


	5. chapta 4, percy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some confused Weasleys, lonely Neville, and Luna.

CHAPTER 4  
Hey Nev,  
Ready for the Triwizard Tournament? Not to give anything away, mainly ‘cous I’m not allowed to, but I’m gonna be there for the first task. Hope to see you then.  
Sorry for the short letter – busy,  
Charlie.  
That letter was sent a week ago. Neville used it as a book mark for his herbology book, giving him an excuse to look at it every so often. He’d replied, of course, though never received a response. Not a big deal: Charlie was busy. He lived in Romania, and letters usually took a long time to get back/forth anyway.  
The Triwizard Tournament. No surprise: Neville was nervous about it. Harry had been chosen as one of the contestants, which was a miracle in itself considering how he was only a 4th year.   
Many people questioned how his name was in the Goblet – rumours about what he’d done to get it in there, who he’d fooled and bribed. Neville personally thought Harry was too temperamental and air-headed to actually go through with anything terribly malicious. He’d also defeated the Dark Lord thrice, which would imply he was a good person. Neville knew him in passing and the boi was only abrasive when attacked.  
Perhaps seeing Charlie would calm him down a little.  
-  
Luna sat next to Neville in the library. Neville was studying his potions book, looking through the method just to decrease the likelihood of him messing up next lesson.  
“Have you had any luck with that Weasley sibling you like?” she asked. “You know, the one who’s left Hogwarts already.”  
In the quietness of the library she was loud, and in the quietness of the library with too many ears (namely the trio about three seats away from them), Neville’s cheeks coloured pink. “Um – what?” he spluttered, his whole body jerking and almost tearing out the page in his textbook.  
“Reparo.” The page was fixed. “You know, the one you’ve been-“  
“Luna,” Neville hissed. “Please. STOP TALKING.”  
Luna tipped her head a little to the left. “Of course, Neville. But you know, you’ll only feel better about your feelings once you accept they’re there. Oh look, Ron’s coming over. Hey, Ron.”  
Neville’s face was hot and red. “Hey, Ron,” he squeaked.  
“Hey, Neville,” Ron sneered, pulling up a seat from beside Luna and sitting on it backwards. “What were you and LUNA just talking about then, huh?”  
“Leave him alone, Ronald. Seriously.” Hermione slapped the side of his head and Ron’s leering expression dropped. “He clearly doesn’t like you, what with your charming chicken breath.”  
“I do not have chicken breath!” Ron’s face turned as red as his hair and he huffed, looking away.  
Hermione winked at Neville when neither Ron or Harry was looking. She somehow managed to shepherd the two away and Neville thought – phew. Maybe I’m safe.  
-  
Neville didn’t realise how wrong he was until he walked into the Gryffindor common room later that evening.   
“Hey,” Fred or George said, tossing an arm over Neville’s shoulder the moment he got through the Fat Lady. “How’s your day been, Neville.”  
“Uh –“  
“Has it been good?” The other Weasley twin said, cropping up on Neville’s other side while Twin 1 lead him to the couches in the common room.  
“Um –“  
“’Course it has George, I mean…this little GEM – likes Percy!”  
“Every day is a great day when you like Percy, isn’t it Neville?” George snorted.  
“Neville and Percy, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”  
Neville fled to his room while the other boys laughed. When Ron entered later that night and started to laugh in his direction, Neville’s discomfort rose and he fled to the common room – and then out of there as it was occupied by the Weasley twins, all the way to the greenhouses outdoors, somehow without getting caught.  
It would be okay. Come morning, everything would be fine.  
SENPAI - hello hello hello! glad to see you lovely peple back here, reading the only rael haruchi potter ship! plz leave a comment thinking what will happen next. they will meet! but you have to leave a comment anyway. and read next chapter because they will meet! for all you shippers  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx senpai loves u all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	6. 5 - PERCEH

CHAPTER 5  
The next morning, everything was not fine.  
Neville took deep breaths while dressing himself, having had to come back to his room for clothes after camping out in the greenhouses for most of the night. Ron sniggered at him when he saw him, though said nothing else. Harry gave him a terse smile and Dean slapped him on the shoulder, packing his bag and walking out of the dorm room.  
Neville was quick to throw random books in his own rucksack, hardly checking his timetable to make sure they correlated. He put his head down and shuffled out of the room, and then out of the common room when the twins caught his eye and smirked.  
He should have expected it.  
-  
An owl dropped a letter in Neville’s lap. Across from him, a few seats to the left, sat the Weasley twins.  
A red letter dropped in Fred’s plate.  
Neville started to peel back the envelope on his letter, but before he could he heard shouting from across the table. There was a floating piece of paper about the twins – both of their expressions were shocked, though the one on the right had a teasing glare to his eyes, and the letter shouted. A Howler.  
“How dare you! In the middle of your brother’s meeting!” Molly Weasley’s voice was loud and shrill – the people around the twins were wincing as she got louder. “He was representing Mr Crouch in an important meeting! How dare you! How the hell do you shut this thing up?”  
A stifled tune started in the background of the Howler recording,  
“He was in Gryffindor  
The head boy that I adore  
You be my Wetherby, I’ll be your Crouch  
My name’s Neville Longbottom, please be my spouse  
He makes my thighs clench  
Only with him will my thirst be quenched  
Percy Weasley of Gryffindor”  
“FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY! HOW COULD YOU! THREE OWLS APIECE, YOUR FOCUS WAS ON THIS? YOUR BROTHER WAS IN A MEETING FOR MR CROUCH! I NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH BILL – OR CHARLIE – OR PERCY! IMAGINE THE TERRIBLE EXAMPLE YOU’RE SETTING FOR GINNY AND RONALD! IF YOU DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN, YOU’RE COMING HOME! YOU HEAR ME – COMING – HOME!”  
Neville could hear his face get darker. The twins sent that song – to Percy? In the middle of his meeting?  
“Singing cards, available at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes only! Perfect to prank someone in a meeting – to sing a love confession – the possibilities are endless!” The twin stepped off his stool and they both looked at each other and chortled, clapping each other on the back.  
Neville could feel people look at him and laugh. He was used to it. They’d sent that song to Percy? It was horrid. Neville didn’t know what to do. People were looking at him. He wanted to leave but at the same time he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. His eyes flitted up and he could see Hermione’s expression of pity. People were crowding Fred and George and clapping them on the back. Neville could feel the embarrassment on his skin. It was crawling. He could hardly feel the paper between his thumb and forefinger. When he stood up, everyone watched him; when he left, no one tried to stop him. People looked up and laughed in his face, blurring faces, Neville walked faster…  
He squatted behind the greenhouse and teared open the envelope. Neville’s eyes flitted over Charlie's words. His heartrate slowed. He took a deep breath and tipped his head back. Things would blow over. They always did. The Tournament was the next biggest thing. People would forget. People would forget.  
senpai - hi guys! did you like this chapter? wrote it myself!!!!!!! i fired my writing team, they didn't seemed to ship the only rael ship - Charville. what abooot the poem? a sendosenpai original! senpai is proud. plz comment. im proud of this chapter because i wrote it myself.  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx senpai demands comments xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	7. CHAPTER 6 - the twilight effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twilight has an odd effect on our egg, Neville.

CHAPTER 6  
In the three hours and two lessons Neville was hidden around the castle for – well. Far too much happened.  
Neville had crawled his way back to the Gryffindor common room around lunchtime, then hid in bed. One of the prefects was sent by McGonagall to check on the wayward student, and he’d simply lied and said he’d had a stomach bug. He refused to go to Madame Pomfrey’s and stayed in bed for the duration of the day.  
Seeing the prefect reminded him of other prefects. Percy. How everyone thought Neville liked him. And the horrible song the twins had sent him. It was clear in Charlie’s letter that he knew about Molly’s Howler – she was recording it in front of him. Neville wasn’t sure to feel embarrassed or afraid. He didn’t want people knowing about his sexuality, wondered what would happen if his grandmother found out, and well…he didn’t like Percy.  
But Charlie was coming to Hogwarts later that day. Neville could wait until nightfall to see Charlie – he had to. He hadn’t seen the teen in the flesh for years. What would Charlie think of him? What would Charlie look like in real life? He’d seen pictures, but…  
Nevertheless, underpinning all of his thoughts about Charlie was a lingering feeling of shame. Because – of everything that happened. About percy.   
And maybe because Neville was ashamed of his feelings. Maybe Neville was ashamed of being gey.  
Around dinner time his stomach was grovelling for attention. He was used to going to bed sometimes without food from when he’d been living with his grandmother, but he hadn’t eaten since the morning before…Neville dragged himself out of bed, took deep breaths of liquid courage, fixed his hair and wrinkled clothing before making his way into the common room.  
People noticed him much more than they had before, but Neville expected that. The whispers followed him until he reached the doorway.  
“Neville!” Neville stilled and Hermione cropped up from behind him. “Going to dinner?” she said. “Maybe we can skip today?”  
“Skip?” Neville was still confused and dazed, otherwise he would have noticed Hermione’s bitter and sympathetic expression.  
“Uh – okay if you’re hungry, wait for Ron and Harry so we can all go down together. Wait a sec.”  
The pair waited together. Hermione attempted to engage Neville in conversation, but he was too dazed and tired.  
-  
They hardly made it down the corridor before someone bumped into Neville, making him stumble back. Some students sniggered, which wasn’t entirely unexpected, and Neville’s eyes honed in on flashing green badges on the chests of the Slytherin students pushing past them.  
‘Neville Longbottom’ they said, before shifting to – ‘PLEASE BE MY SPOUSE’.   
Neville decided he wasn’t all that hungry after all. The students in the common room didn’t try to bother him.  
-  
Thankfully people had dropped the badges the next day in favour for wearing Hogwarts colours. The Triwizard Tournament was hardly a daily affair. Many of the Slytherins had opted to support Cedric Diggory just to spite the Gryffinpuffs. Before the twins had ‘outed’ his ‘feelings’ for Percy, Neville had also created some things to support Harry with.  
Thankfully Harry won his round, retrieved an egg…Neville waited for night to fall so he could see Charlie again. It was the only thing keeping him sane.  
-  
As Charlie had suggested in his letter at the end of chapter 5, Neville walked down to the greenhouses to meet with him.   
Charlie put a finger over his own lips, but Neville wouldn’t have been able to speak anyway. He was gobsmacked. Charlie was – beautiful. Strikingly handsome. In the smeared light of the greenhouse his eyes were an icy, crystalline colour, practically translucent. His smirk under his finger was cheeky and (suggestive?), his jawline rough, red hair fanning over his forehead in a mussed, unstyled style. Pictures couldn’t have prepared Neville for the real thing. He could feel his heart rate pick up when Charlie motioned Neville to follow him, and Neville did – an unfiltered thought asserted Neville would follow Charleh anywhere, but Neville was quick to dismiss it.  
Charlie ended up grabbing Neville’s sleeve to tug him along. They stopped when they reached the tents left over from the Triwizard Tournament and Charlie let go of Neville.   
“Hello,” Charlie said to Neville clearly, now that they weren’t in danger of being caught.  
“Uh – hi,” Neville said, twisting his sleeves in his fingers and avoiding Charlie’s gaze.  
Charlie laughed, tipping his head back. “No need to be nervous, mate. Let’s go see some dragons, yeah?”  
The awkwardness dissipated soon after that. The pair spent the next while looking at dragons, Charlie mostly laughing at Neville’s reactions and awe. No one else was really around. The dragons were mostly too dangerous to be touched or handled, especially without the support of other dragon handlers.   
They soon sat to the side on the damp grass. Charlie leant back on his palms, looking up at the sky. Neville looked at him as secretly as he could, eyes on the ridges of his lips.  
“So…this is gonna be awkward to talk about,” Charlie said, still looking up at the sky. “I heard about what fred and George did.”  
Neville couldn’t say anything.  
“They’re dumbasses. Nev…” Charlie took a deep breath. “The world is full of colours. Some people call it difference. I don’t know what to call it, but what I can say is that the nuances from person to person is what makes them whole. You have to accept them, Nev…accept yourself.”  
Somehow Neville knew Charlie was referring to his sexuality. He could tell. Neville could feel his eyes prickling and his nose itching – he looked away.  
“Neville…” Charlie said seriously. “Look at me.”  
Neville turned to him, eyes screwed shut.  
Charlie sighed. “I really messed this up, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to upset you.”  
Neville’s eyes flickered open. Charlie was visible only in the moonlight. Strands of hair were sharp orange, bright and zesty; Neville’s heart picked up.   
Charlie looked at Neville, eyes hooded in the moonlight –  
-Neville leant forward over the expanse of space separating them, and…kissed him.   
SENPAI - how do you think charlie will reacc????????? what r ur thoughts on neville kissing his boi????  
many comments = more love from senpai to you. plz give me more comments. feed me so i can grow.


	8. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7  
Neville Longbottom and Charlie Weasley were kissing. In the moonlight. On the night of the first Triwizard Tournament event.  
Their lips were still. Just pressed together. They stayed like that for a beat, then another…  
Then the stillness was broken.  
The air was cold when Charlie moved away. Neville could feel the blush on is cheeks. This is what Charlie meant, wasn’t it, when he said Neville should accept himself? What else could Charlie have meant, when Neville’s love for Charlie was such a huge part of what he was?  
Charlie looked confused – really, really confused. Neville’s heart ached in suspense.  
“Neville…”  
Neville looked up at Charlie.  
“What – what did you…” Charlie touched his lips with his fingers. “Did you just – did you just kiss me?”  
The shift in his expression was hardly visible. One moment Charlie was clearly baffled, and the next his expression darkened.  
“What the hell? What the f*ck?” Charlie tore himself away from Neville, expression curled with disgust, rubbing his lips ferociously on the back of his hand. He looked physically ill. “What the –“ Charlie moved away from Neville.  
Neville felt like he couldn’t breathe. The panic was descending on him. “I-I – Charlie, I’m sor-“  
“You’re a kid! You’re –“ Charlie spat on the ground, still rubbing at his mouth. “You’re a kid – and a guy! That’s f*cking-“ Charlie winced.  
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry – I’m so sorry,” Neville muttered, reaching for Charlie’s hand. “I’m sorry, Charlie –“  
Charlie cringed away from his grip. “Don’t touch me, f*cking hell – don’t touch me-“  
“I-I’m sorry – I won’t-“  
“Get out of here,” Charlie’s face was still mottled with revulsion, “Just get out of here – and don’t come back. Don’t come near me.”  
Neville pushed himself to stand, “Char-“  
“Get out!” Charlie shouted. “Go away!”  
Neville turned and ran.  
-  
Neville hid in the corner of the library where none of his friends could witness him cry. It took him only a few hours to tire himself out with his sobs, and when he woke up in the early hours of the morning a dark shawl was draped over his shoulders. Somehow someone had found his hiding space under the tables.  
He folded the shawl and made his way through the quiet castle. Even the common room was quiet. The other four boys in his room were asleep already. Did they notice his absence? His bed looked cold, and the presence of the other Weasley in his periphery pained him.  
Neville curled up under the covers, shoulders shaking with quiet tears.  
Come morning, things would get even worse.  
senpai - senpai-sadface bc senpai is sad  
plz comment xxxxxxx also yes i require more kudos tytyty xxxx as many as there are days n the year is preferable xxxxxxx


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> comment and kudos!!!

Neville woke early the next morning. He planned to get breakfast early so as not to run into anyone, and then spend the day in his room or in the library; anywhere he could be alone. He still felt physically ill, as his mind tried, unsuccessfully, to block the memories that were rushing back. And with those memories came the anxiety, pain and humiliation. Why was he so stupid? What made him think Charlie Weasley – the handsome ,strong, funny, just overall cool Charlie Weasley – would ever be interested in him? Neville was pathetic, unattractive, socially inept and that was just scratching the surface. Charlie had every right to be furious. Maybe the biggest part of what made him feel so hollow was that he knew Charlie would never want to speak to him again. For a long time the only thing getting him through school were those letters. That treasured correspondence reminded him he did have someone he could talk to; and now that someone didn’t want anything to do with him. 

-

He had managed to slip in and out of the Great Hall without attracting any attention this way. As it was Sunday, there were no lessons going on so at least for today he could avoid his classmates. Lost in thought, he suddenly realised he’d accidentally taken a wrong turn on his way to the library. Cursing, he turned around, only to run into none other than a sneering Malfoy. “Longbottom, are your thighs clenching?” he taunted. Neville hands balled into fists, his jaw clenched. His eyes then fell on the badge on Malfoy’s chest. It was flashing, alternating between the lines of that wretched poem: 'He makes my thighs clench' and 'Only with him will my thirst be quenched' “Want one? You can have it for free.” Malfoy’s smirk flared. He even went as far as to reach to pull his own badge off his chest as if he were about to give it to Neville.

Neville felt physically sick. Malfoy had always teased him and was a generally vile person – but now? Neville couldn’t take it. He could feel his sadness welling, the ache in his chest, the tears welling in his eyes, a feeling that had gotten familiar over the past few days. And when Malfoy laid the badge, face-up on his palm – the badge that was blinking between lines of that wretched poem – as an offering to Neville, he cracked.

The smirk slid off Malfoy’s face – he pushed back, spitting onto the floor. Neville could feel the pain in his fist. It was almost surreal. The badge fell on the floor between them, and in a twisted turn of events Malfoy ended up cracking it underfoot when stumbling backwards under the force of the (weak) hit. 

“Longbottom!”

Malfoy was covering the lower part of his face with his palm, hiding a smirk.

“Fifty points from Gryffindor!” Snape sneered, walking quickly toward the pair. Malfoy started to dramatize his pain, stumbling back a little further. Snape descended on them.  
“Instead of physical violence against other students,” Snape sneered, looking at the ‘wincing’ Malfoy, “Maybe you should focus on studying to correct your abysmal grades.” Snape tipped his head to the side as if in consideration, “Or will you sell yourself to get the older Weasley boy to fix them for you?”

Neville’s fists shook. He took a step back. Snape smirked. Fifty points? For punching another student? Neville turned his face away to wipe his tears as discreetly as he could, not that he had any pride left at this point. 

“Detention,” Snape slurred, “Tomorrow. I need some Mandrake leaves and I’m sure you’ll be perfect at harvesting them.”

-

“Come in,” McGonagall said.

Neville wiped his face again. There was no real point; he had locked himself in the school bathroom and had been crying for the past two hours. His eyes were red and puffy, bloodshot. Everyone knew how much of a mess he was anyway. Not that he’d be here for much longer.

He took a step in. McGonagall looked up from her desk and dropped her quill, moving behind him to close the door.

“Take a seat, Mr Longbottom.”

He did. 

“Have a gingernewt.” She offered him the biscuit jar. He took one, throat aching too much to waste words on a rejection. The biscuit did little more than make a mess of his fingers.

McGonagall watched him not eat. She took her seat again.

“What can I do for you, Mr Longbottom?”

He stared down at the biscuit. “I –“ he sniffed. “I’m leaving.”

“And where are you going?”

“I can’t stay here.” The biscuit crumbled onto his knee.

“You’re not one for going home.” Neville considered McGonagall probably knew how often he’d stayed in Hogwarts for the holidays rather than going back to his grandmother. The headache spanned over his brow.

“Neville,” she said. “Your parents would be so proud to see you at the school they loved.”

Neville’s hands shook, lips trembled. 

“Give it a chance. Give it more time.” She waited a moment. “Your parents wouldn’t want you to do this. They tried their hardest for you.”

More tears slid off his chin. He batted them away quickly, the skin on his face sore.

“This is a big decision for you to make, Neville. Give it two days. I’ll write a note to Madame Pomfrey and you can stay in the hospital wing for that time.

“But if you really want to leave after that,” McGonagall said calmly, “Then that’s okay too.”

sendosenpai - wow, this was a tough right. quite a few of us over here at sanpeistudios had to band together to get through Neville's tough angst. Fuciking snape.  
Sorry it took so long! we have alot of things in production, a lot of exciting projects on the way. Which leads us to the -

ANNOUNCEMENT:  
sanpeistudios is hiring! pay per chapter, competitve salary! contact us on our archive account (sendosenpai) or tumblr (sendosenpai-69). Message us with the header - SANPEISTUDIOS HIRING with a 300-word extract of something you've written so we get a sense of your writing style. We're always on the scout for new talent, but be sure to message us soon in order to reserve your spot on our writing team!


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